WhatsApp Scams: Government asks Meta to tackle cases of cyber frauds after TRAI’s appeal
Efforts to combat scams have been initiated with Meta, acknowledging the evolving tactics of scamsters. Users are encouraged to report issues via a grievance officer, with escalation options available through a grievance appellate committee if necessary.
Indian government has asked Meta to tackle the growing scams on WhatsApp. The intervention comes amidst a surge in the cases of cyberfrauds in the country and after PM Modi also warned the public about the rise in Digital Arrest scams during a recent episode of Mann ki Baat episode.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary S Krishnan confirmed that the government had taken up the matter of growing scams with WhatsApp while noting that its an ongoing process.
In an interaction with The Economic Times, Krishnan said, “We have taken it (scams issue) up with Meta. This is a continuous process. They (scamsters) will keep discovering newer ways, making people worry,”
“If there is some wrong content, there is a process. The IT rules require these companies to have a grievance officer with whom users can raise issues. They can raise it either within the app or outside. In case, the issue is not dealt with, there is also a grievance appellate committee.” Krishnan added.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Anil Kumar Lahoti also confirmed to Economic Times that WhatsApp calls are handled by MeitY and the watchdog had asked the government to look into growing scams on the personal messaging app. Notably, Over-the-top services like WhatsApp, X, Instagram, Telegram and Signal currently fall outside the TRAI purview.
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First Published:7 Dec 2024, 09:06 AM IST
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